Bulgarian Wine Producers

Cult boutique winery in the village of Borovitza, near the town of Belogradchik, Bulgaria.

It specialises in the indigenous grape varieties Bouquet, Evmolpia, Rkatsiteli and Gamza while experimenting with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. It is set up by the dr of microbiology Ogi Tcvetanov and Adriana Serebrinova, two celebrated Bulgarian winemakers with more than 60 years of experience between them.

A very small producer, Borovitza, churns out more than 20 wines each year with some of them less than 500 bottles. The winery has two vineyards, one above the winery planted with Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier.

The other is near the village of Gradetc, about 10 miles North-West from the Danube port town of Vidin is planted mainly with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Brestovitsa village is a stone throw from the ancient town of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, now made a cultural capital of Europe for 2019. Where Plovdiv boasts with longer than 6000 years history Brestovitsa has made its name through vines and wines. Local archaeological discoveries point to ancient Thracian tribes heavily engaged in wine-making activities here more than 4000 years ago and wine making has grown deep roots here.

The terroir also happens to be unique and the vineyards have been known to produce some of the best Mavrud, an ancient indigenous grape variety planted in the area. In recent years it was Rubin that was most sought after and also Cabernet Sauvignon has made a name for itself.

The winery is built by French engineers at the beginning of the 20th century. At the time the small village situated about 20 miles south west of Plovdiv was already boasting with 27 wineries large and small. In reality every house owned a vineyard and produced wine, a tradition still alive today. Many of those fervent ‘Vinari’ (a word for winemaker in Bulgarian) has chosen subsequently to join the local cooperative, which still survives under the name of Brestovitsa winery.

Despite its large production it is also known for quality and is exported successfully across Europe and Asia.  In the UK it is imported with its Erigone label for unoaked young varietal wines and the top flagship label Maximinus Thrax. This one is reserved for the  best wines from the vintage and we have chosen to bring Mavrud and Cabernet Sauvignon /Rubin from 2011 and 2014 respectful vintages. Recently Brestovitza started production of Rubin Rosé under the Erigon label, which can also be found on the website.

It was set up in 1994 by 3 friends in a village with the same name, a stone throw from the Macedonian border in South-West Bulgaria.

While making high quality wines from international grape varieties the winery is also esteemed highly  for producing wines from the local indigenous grape varieties Broad Leaved Melnik Vine and Early Ripening Melnik, also known as Melnik 55.

The former is believed to have been planted in the area since Roman times while the latter was created in the sixties by crossing the Broad Leaved Melnik Vine with the French grape variety Valdiguie, originally planted in the Languedoc-Roussillon area.

Yamantiev, a structural engineer, fell in love with the place and the winery in 1996 while doing construction work in Ivaylovgrad. He was stunned by the unspoiled beauty in the heart of Thracian Valley, an area kept close during Socialism for being a stone throw from the Greek border.  

Initially, he rented the winery in 1998 and bought it in 2000 to embark on a very ambitious program of renovation and modernisation. During refurbishment in the winery were found ancient Roman mosaics, establishing a link with a Roman Villa unearthed nearby dating back two thousand years. 

The archaeological discoveries in the area pointed to extensive wine-making activities, a fact that inspired the new owners to spare no effort in establishing the vineyards.   Working with various European Funds, the family planted 70 ha of own vineyards with mainly international grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Alicante Bushe, Viognier, Muscat and Chardonnay.

After a decade of hard work Yamantiev wines found many foreign markets including a brief spell with Mathew Clark in 2006.

Villa Armira wines are fruity unoaked style aimed at showing the varietal character.

Yamantiev Reserve spent a little time in French and Bulgarian oak and are not produced each year. We have had Cabernet Sauvignon in 2006, and now stock their stunning Syrah 2010.

Marble Land wines are from a single vineyard with a marble bedrock and are also matured in new oak barrels for up to a year.

The flagship wine, Ivaylovgrad is reserved for the best crop in outstanding years and can be distinguished by its unusually heavy glass bottle. It is dedicated to the Roman ancestors who embraced this blessed land and engaged in winemaking here.